


Wild Hearts

by MyJediLife



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: A HOT HERMIT, Badass Rey, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben Solo is Not Nice, Ben Solo is a hermit, Ben Solo is a wildlife photographer, Ben is a dick, Campfires, Eventual Romance, F/M, HEA, Hot Chocolate, Inappropriate Use of sleeping Bags, Mutual Pining, Rey & Rose Tico Are Best Friends, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey is a helicopter pilot, Rey is a mess, Rey is not putting up with his shit, Rose Tico is a badass, Slow Burn, Snuggling, SwoloFic, no really, swolo fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-24 23:54:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19734229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyJediLife/pseuds/MyJediLife
Summary: When wildlife photographer Ben Solo gets injured in the wilderness of Yellowstone, it is up to Rey Sands and her rescue crew to evac him. What neither she nor Ben expect is that this won't be their last meeting, and neither of them expect to fall in love.





	Wild Hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HarpiaHarpyja](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarpiaHarpyja/gifts).



> I have a wonderful beta/moodboard artist who is also a talented writer. Please show her some love here: [Azuwrite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azuwrite)
> 
> This is for the Plaid Paramour event for House Plaidam at TWD
> 
> My prompt was: "Ben lives alone near Yellowstone National Park and makes a living as a nature photographer. Rey is a park service pilot who gets stuck airlifting his ungrateful ass to safety when he injures himself on a winter shoot. Months later, they meet again during a summer wolf-watching outing. Sparks fly." I truly hope to do this wonderful prompt some justice!

[](https://imgur.com/u3eP52S)

He had moved to Montana to get away from everyone.

Ben Solo had never been – and never would be – a people person. He preferred the quiet solitude of his cozy cabin in the woods just outside Yellowstone, where he spent most of his time as a wildlife photographer. It provided him the opportunity to work in his chosen profession – and the remote location meant he didn’t get many visitors.

Today it was a blustery twenty degrees out, and so, Ben sat on a camp chair on his porch, watching as a pair of ermine trotted across the trail he often used to enter the woods. His camera in hand, he snapped some quick shots of the pair, puffing out a steamy breath as they darted into the forest.

A fresh snow had fallen the night before, bathing the world in glittering, blinding splendor, and Ben was glad he had his sunglasses on. He picked up the thermos resting near his feet before screwing off the top and taking a long swallow of the coffee within. He stood, adjusting his tan Carhart jacket, peering out across the sparkling meadow behind his cabin.

Perhaps today he’d go up to Calcite Springs to see if he could get some shots of the Bighorn Sheep that resided there, or he could head towards the Northern Range for some shots of the elk, bison and foxes that made frequent appearances.

His decision made, Ben ducked back into his cabin, packing everything he would need for the trip into several duffel bags and a backpack. He would have to take his snowmobile, since several of the trails he would go on were not accessible by the Range Rover he would normally drive into town. Tucking his red plaid scarf around his neck, Ben loaded everything onto the snowmobile before starting it up, loving the feel of the crisp breeze on his face as he maneuvered along the trails.

He didn’t see the log underneath the drift of fresh snow, and as his ski caught on it, his body flew over the windshield, his large body somersaulting once as he was propelled forward, his snowmobile also flipping in the air. He landed hard on his back in the snow, his snowmobile landing on top of him with a thud.

He came to sometime later – the muted light of the late afternoon alerting him to the fact that he had been out in the snow far longer than was safe. The snowmobile was still in gear above him, and as he groaned softly, lifting one hand to push against the machine in a completely futile gesture, Ben knew he was screwed. He would have to somehow gain access to his sat phone, which was nestled in a pocket in one of the duffel bags strapped to the back of the machine.

Gritting his teeth against the sharp pain in one leg, as well as his ribs, Ben somehow managed to work his way to a semi-sitting position, and as he stretched as far as he could, he was relieved to feel the fabric of the bag he needed under his glove. After removing his thick glove, he stretched once more, hissing at the sharp pain in his side as he moved. His fingers gripped the bag once more, and he mustered all his strength to pull at the fabric, hoping that the bag would come free, so he could get to the phone.

It worked, and as the strap on the duffel bag broke free, Ben cussed gently, thankful he now had the much needed sat phone where he could get it.

….

Rey Sands had been a rescue pilot for the National Park Service in Yellowstone since being discharged from the Air Force five years ago. She and her three-person crew worked out of a small hangar just inside the boundaries of the park, ready in a moment’s notice to answer a rescue call if needed.

In the depths of the Montana winter, their days right now were generally filled with playing cards and XBox to wile away the hours between calls. Rey didn’t mind, although sometimes the boredom did get to be too much. She longed for some action, just to break up the monotony.

Their radio went off with a loud tone, indicating they were needed somewhere in the park, and all four of them jumped up from their third game of  _ Cards Against Humanity _ of the day. Rey immediately went to her locker, throwing on her gear in a hurry as she listened to the dispatcher.

_ We have an injured male from a snowmobile crash, possible head injury, broken leg and ribs. Coordinates are 44.4280° N, 110.5885° W based on the GPS from his sat phone. He is an inholder – Benjamin Solo. Need an exfil to closest hospital with a neuro unit. _

She was the first to the chopper, as the pilot she had her preflight checks to do while the rest of the crew got everything they needed readied. They were in the air within five minutes, and Rey, as always, felt a sense of wonder that she got to do this incredible job. They got to help people in the most beautiful landscape she had ever seen.

Finding a place to land the helicopter was always an adventure, of course, yet Rey somehow found a safe spot to set down, her crew off as soon as the rotors stopped turning. Rey’s job was to stay with the chopper and manage the comms, as well as keeping an eye on the weather.

Judging by the GPS off the man’s sat phone, it would take the crew a quarter of an hour to hike to his location, fifteen to twenty minutes to stabilize him and get him on a stretcher, and another fifteen back to the chopper. That gave her forty-five minutes of waiting. At least that was something Rey had always been good at.

What she hadn’t expected was to have a patient fighting her crew – but that’s exactly what Ben Solo was doing when they got back to the chopper almost an hour later. The man was  _ huge _ – he took up all of the stretcher  _ and _ the extension to it that Poe had thankfully grabbed on their way out of the helicopter.

“I swear to  _ fuck _ , woman,” he was growling at Rose, “If you didn’t grab my fucking camera equipment, I am going to sue all of you! Do you fucking hear me? That’s twenty thousand dollars of very sensitive camera equipment! I will fucking sue your stupid asses! I swear I will!”

Luckily, Rose had thick skin, and a sweeter-than-sugar attitude about the whole predicament. 

“Mr. Solo, I have all your equipment here. If you don’t stop yelling and thrashing about, I am going to have to sedate you for your own safety, do you understand me? Poe here  _ loves _ to stick needles in patients. Long needles – don’t you, Poe?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” Poe deadpanned, keeping his face neutral. Rey grinned at the exchange, meeting her crew to survey that they had their patient properly strapped into the stretcher for the ride to the hospital.

“Who the fuck are you?” Ben growled at Rey, looking at her with wild eyes. He was obviously in pain, his expressive chocolate eyes told her that much.

“I’m the pilot - the person responsible for getting you to the hospital. Now, behave. I don’t want Poe to stick his long needle in you.” Rey smirked at the man before nodding at Poe. “Load him up so we can get out of here. The wind’s starting to shift.”

“Wait, you’re the pilot? What are you, fifteen? For fuck’s sake, who does the park service fucking hire?” Rey turned back to look at the man, hazel eyes meeting chocolate as she answered him.

“Apparently, they hire former Air Force pilots after they retire from the military. Will that answer suffice, or would you like to see my discharge paperwork from the government?” Rey turned once more, this time starting in on her pre-flight checks while Poe, Rose and Finn dealt with a still screaming Ben Solo in the back.

There were patients that Rey would always remember – whether because they survived against extraordinary odds, or they lost their fight against whatever battle they had been fighting, but Rey would remember Ben Solo always for two reasons: he was a complete asshole, and he had the most expressive, gorgeous eyes she had ever seen.

….

Life went on as normal for everyone involved, it seemed, as life tends to. Winter turned to Spring in Yellowstone, the snow melting and filling the river. The park teemed with life – old and new, and at night the howls of wolves drifted through the air.

It was the season of life and love, of renewal, and the world was filled with possibility.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave comments and kudos, and mash that subscribe button if you like what you see! <3
> 
> Come visit me on tumblr:[my-jedi-life](https://my-jedi-life.tumblr.com/)
> 
> And on the twitter: [MyJediLife](https://twitter.com/MyJediLife)


End file.
